Col Gaddafi 'emphatic' he will not leave Libya

Colonel Gaddafi is 'emphatic' he will not leave Libya, despite Nato airstrikes
and concern about his 'personal safety', South Africa's President Jacob Zuma
said after returning from a peace mission to the country.

Nato gave special permission to Jacob Zuma to fly into TripoliPhoto: EPA/Ntswe Mokoena

Despite claims that Mr Zuma might seek to negotiate an exit strategy, his statement focused on a demand for agreed ceasefire throughout Nato.

"(Col Gaddafi) expressed his anger at the Nato bombings, which have claimed the lives of his son and grandchildren and continue to cause a destruction of property and disruption of life," the statement said.

"He emphasised that he was not prepared to leave his country, despite the difficulties."

Libyan government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said on that the meeting did not discuss 'exit strategies'.

Mr Zuma "never discussed any exit strategies as they have been described in the media," said Moussa Ibrahim, government spokeman at a news conference on Tuesday night.

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Mr Zuma became the first outsider to see Col Gaddafi in person since May 11, meeting him in his home and seeing the bombed building where the regime says his son Saif al-Arab and three grandchildren were killed in April.

In state television pictures, Col Gaddafi seemed well and, contrary to some rumours, uninjured by the bombing raids.

Nato gave special permission to Mr Zuma to fly into Tripoli, along with a heavily armed support group, to present an African Union "road map" for peace. But his efforts were immediately dismissed by the rebels, who have demanded that Col Gaddafi step down before any negotiations take place.

Despite denials that South Africa was working on an exit strategy for Col Gaddafi, it was reported that senior Libyan officials had engaged the services of a local law firm to defend him should he be brought before the International Criminal Court at The Hague.

Langa Attorneys is alleged to have negotiated a "mandate agreement" to protect the Libyan leader's interests three weeks ago.

Meanwhile, residents of an east Tripoli suburb confirmed yesterday that Monday had seen the largest anti-regime protest in the capital since the beginning of March.

One resident of the suburb, Souq al-Juma'a, said that 1,000 people had gathered at the funeral of two men killed in a shoot-out with police at a check-point the day before. Footage posted to Youtube showed a crowd chanting anti-Gaddafi slogans.

He said there were regular shootings in the night. "Everyone in Souq al-Juma'a is against Gaddafi," he said. "People paint slogans on the walls but they get painted over."